Story

When I first began blogging, I had a few emails from people I knew and those I didn't who wrote to tell me that they had read my blog. Some of those people were mothers who have either had a baby with T-18 or were pregnant with a baby who has T-18. I still get messages like that, but not as much. I wonder sometimes if those same people are still following.

Not that it matters. Whether I have zero readers or 100,000 readers, I will still write. I think Sue Monk Kidd explains it beautifully in her book Firstlight ("The Crucible of Story" chapter).

"When we share our inner stories, we allow others to enter our lives and partake of our deepest truths. We discover that we share the same joys and tragedies, the same ambiguities and struggles. In the end we are all one story."

I have allowed all of my readers into my own "inner story." When I introduce myself to a "new" T-18 mother, I always encourage her to read others' stories and, if possible, to begin her own. When I discovered that I share the "same joys and tragedies," an extra layer of comfort was added to soften my worries. There's something to say about not being alone.

But sharing my story has done more than just put me in touch with other T-18 mothers. Kidd again knows exactly how it is for me: "Telling our story puts us in an inner room with our suffering and allows us to dialogue with it. We begin to see our difficulty in a new context and thereby find the comfort and courage to live it." Maybe that's why I've heard so many others say how strong I am. In bearing my soul through my fingers, I've faced this suffering head on. I've looked it straight in the eye and taken it for what it's worth. It's been quite cathartic.

So if you are a T-18 mother or father, or if you suffer through some other difficulty, perhaps by telling your own story, you will "find the comfort and courage to live it." It doesn't have to be by blogging, but I've found it's a great way to keep a lot of people informed.